


Saved

by gleeksfreaksandwannabes



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Slight Canon Divergence, alec is still guilty, madzie is adorable, set in 2x09
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-05
Updated: 2017-03-05
Packaged: 2018-09-28 09:52:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10089722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gleeksfreaksandwannabes/pseuds/gleeksfreaksandwannabes
Summary: When Jace rescues Madzie from Valentine she quickly saves Clary and removes Iris' curse, but what he soon finds out is maybe little Madzie can save somebody else he loves, too.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, so this is a little piece I wrote, kind of as a "what if Valentine didn't take Madzie and Clary" kind of thing, but then it ran away with me, so I hope you enjoy!

Valentine was just as desperate as Jace had thought. He let Madzie go with nothing but a glare in Jace’s direction; Jace had been betting that he needed both Clary and him alive to go through with his plan, and he had been right, which he so enjoyed. Truthfully, he hadn’t thought of a backup plan in case Valentine didn’t hand Madzie over, but he pushed that thought from his mind as he took the little girl’s hand with a smile and lead her out of the café.

 

He rounded a corner out onto the street, pulling Madzie perhaps a little harder than he should have,

“Come on Madzie,” he urged as she half ran to keep up with him “we have to hurry,”

“Why?”

“You remember Clary? With the bright orange hair?” Madzie nodded “Well, she’s really sick, she needs your help,” she sped up to meet him, her little legs moving as fast as they could carry her, and Jace couldn’t help but smile affectionately before picking up his pace.

 

Simon had moved the van to a more secluded spot by the river and was helping down from the rooftop as they approached. She swayed unsteadily on her feet as he set her down, but offered them a small smile all the same.

“Madzie!” she said weakly, kneeling down to the child’s level and pulling her into a hug “Madzie, you’re OK!” Jace and Simon watched in awe as Madzie put her hands on Clary’s shoulders, her little eyes focused on her face as a stream of fuchsia magic swirled around them. The burned flesh on Clary’s body gradually disintegrated, and she gasped as she watched it disappear from her hand. She sank to her knees breathlessly as Madzie let her go,

“Thank you,” she said weakly, pulling the girl into a quick hug as Jace approached. 

“We have to get you back to the institute, Clary,” he said as Simon approached beside him “it’s not safe for you or Madzie outside those wards.” Clary nodded, accepting the hand Simon offered and following him back to the van.

“Come on Madzie,” Jace said gently, kneeling down to speak to her “we’re gonna take you back to the Institute, OK? Valentine won’t be able to get you there,” Madzie hesitated, her little eyes wide and her bottom lip wobbling “Hey, it’s gonna be OK,” Jace told her “we’re going to find a way to get you home, I promise you, but you have to trust me,” he offered her a hand, and after a moment she reached out to turn it over, her little fingers tracing over the clairvoyance rune etched into the back of it.  
“Marks,” she mumbled, her little eyes trailing to the one that curved around his neck.

“Yeah,” Jace said, pushing up his sleeves to show her “they’re runes, they help us so we can keep people safe—“ Madzie had reached out to touch the block and deflect rune on Jace’s forearm, her little eyes tearing up.

“This one,” she said quietly “he had it here,” she pointed to her neck.

“Alec?” Jace blinked “You know Alec?” Madzie nodded,

“Nana hurt him.” she said, her fingers lightly drawing the pattern of the rune over Jace’s arm, over and over “But he liked my gills,” Jace couldn’t help but smile at that; Alec had a soft spot for kids, it didn’t surprise Jace in the slightest that he had taken a liking to Madzie, she was pretty cute, after all,

“He’s my brother,” Madzie brightened at that “he lives with us at the Institute, I can take you to see him if you want,” the little girl nodded, her brown curls bobbing around her little enthusiastic face, and she reached up to take Jace’s hand, as if to say ‘I’m ready to go now’. Grinning, Jace stood and led her back to the van, where he picked her up and sat down in the back, only to have Madzie crawl over and sit on his lap, falling asleep with her head against his chest.

 

Jace gently woke Madzie when they arrived at the institute and helped her down from the van, fondly shaking his head at the way Simon insisted on helping Clary even though she insisted she was fine; that girl was nothing if not stubborn,

“Hey,” Simon looked back from the driver’s seat of the van “why don’t you come in? I’m sure Izzy would want to see you,” he hesitated before offering Jace a nod and climbing down from the van.

“Clary, call Magnus and ask if he’ll strengthen the wards around the place,” Jace said as he lifted a sleepy Madzie higher on his hip “with you, me and Madzie all in the same place Valentine’s going to be pretty persistent on getting in.” with that he lead the way into the institute, setting Madzie down on the ground and taking her hand to lead her straight to the living quarters; the last thing he needed was fellow Shadowhunters asking why he had brought a warlock into their midst. 

 

He knocked on Alec’s door and half opened it to find that his brother was sitting on his bed, his head hung and working at the spot on his hand with his thumb,

“Hey,” Jace said gently “what’s going on?” Alec didn’t look up “If this is still about Jocelyn—“ but he shook his head,

“It’s— hey,” he looked up to see little Madzie hovering in the doorway, and a smile lit up his features almost immediately “you found Madzie,” the girl let out a little squeak before running as fast as her little legs would carry her and throwing herself into Alec’s arms, burying her little face into his sweater “hey honey,” Alec said gently, setting her on his knee so he could look at her better “you’re gonna be safe here for now, OK? That man you were with is no good for you, do you believe me?” Madzie nodded, her little bottom lip jutting out slightly as Alec brushed a few stray curls from her forehead “We’re all gonna take care of you here, and you’ll never have to see that bad man again, OK?”

“Promise?” Madzie said in a soft voice, holding tightly onto Alec’s hand with both her own. Alec smiled, the first genuine smile Jace had seen on him in months, and he couldn’t help but think that Madzie hadn’t just saved Clary tonight, she had saved Alec too. 

Here was Alec in his element, exactly where he need to be after the hell he put himself through after Jocelyn’s death; he was Madzie’s protector, he was someone she felt safe with and someone she looked to for reassurance. That was exactly what Jace saw in Madzie’s little eyes as she ran her fingers over Alec’s block and deflect rune on his neck; Alec wasn’t a murderer, he wasn’t someone who killed innocent people, he was a protector, he was a good person, he was everything Madzie needed him to be in that moment, and Jace’s heart unclenched slightly as he saw that Alec was finally starting to allow himself to realize that too.

“I promise,”

The alarm sounded then, blaring and flashing red lights as Madzie jumped and buried herself into Alec’s chest,

“It’s OK,” he murmured, wrapping one arm protectively around her and using the other hand to hold her head close to him and cover her ears “What the hell is going on?” he asked Jace, but his reply was drowned out by the sudden cacophony of noise errupting downstairs that could only mean one thing.

Valentine had found them.

This was going to be hell.


End file.
